


Second chances

by Spannah339



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: (but if anyone does want to beta read hmu), Angst, Canon Rewrite, Gen, Let Ahsoka be a kid, Let The Clones Be Kids, but also happiness, but diverges from there, dude i do not know how to tag, no beta we die like men, season 5, starts in s6e4 "Orders", there will be angst cos this is me writing, though there will be Pain before we get to the fixed part, we're doing a Fix-It fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23872531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spannah339/pseuds/Spannah339
Summary: “Move aside!”Rex looked up from Fives’ face, at the shout, his heart leaping for a moment as he made out Kix of all people pushing past Fox’s men. They didn’t try to stop him and the medic skidded to his knees beside Fives, tossing his helmet out of the way. “I’ve got him, sir. I’ve got you.” He laid a hand on Fives’ chest, and the wounded soldier’s eyes flickered slightly in recognition.____ARC Trooper Fives has found out information he shouldn't have and Captian Rex refuses to let him die with the knowledge that could change the fate of the galaxy. With the help of the medic Kix and Trooper Jesse, Rex makes a daring choice to leave the Republic, taking his wounded brother and fleeing Corescuant. The four clones must learn the truth, gather evidence and maybe have a little fun and pick up some friends along the way.
Comments: 20
Kudos: 98





	1. Chapter 1

Kix was worried. He hadn’t fully stopped to think since speaking to Fives, delivering his brother’s message to Rex immediately. But now, as he made his way back to the bar, he began to run the conversation through his mind again. Something had been very wrong. 

Fives was either mad, or he was very sure about what he was saying. A conspiracy, one that ran so deep he couldn’t trust anyone. One that he was on the run for uncovering. Kix wasn’t sure he believed it. 

Jesse was still waiting at the bar when Kix rejoined him, lost in thought. The other clone glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. 

“Everything alright?” Jesse asked. Kix nodded absently, but Jesse knew him to well to let that pass. “Kix? What’s up?” 

Kix hesitated a moment, glancing around. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jesse - he did, completely - but the Coruscant guards were still searching the bar. If they found out he had seen Fives, they would instantly demand his location. Even if he didn’t understand what was going on, Kix wasn’t about to be the cause of Fives capture. 

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said slowly. Jesse frowned, lowering the drink he was holding. He didn’t say anything, just nodded, snagging his helmet from under the bar. 

A moment later, they were walking through the warm Coruscant air, leaving the sounds of the bar behind them. Kix waited until he was confident they were outside of air shot, then began to talk, still walking with no destination in mind. 

“I saw Fives,” he said. 

Jesse paused for a second, a mixture of concern and suspicion flickering across his face. 

“Is he okay?” he asked, looking around as though Fives would appear to join them from nowhere. “Those Coruscant guards were looking for him.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Kix said. He kept walking and Jesse had to double time a few steps to catch up with the medic. “He said he’d uncovered something… a - a conspiracy. Something that ran deep. Something dangerous. He wanted to talk to Rex and the General about it.” 

“Is he alright?” Jesse repeated. Kix let out a long sigh, twisting his helmet in his hands as he walked. 

“He seemed… unhinged. Worried. Paranoid. I’m not sure, but something’s not right.” 

“Like Tup?” Jesse asked quietly. Kix glanced down. 

“Not sure. Not quite the same.” He stopped suddenly, Jesse stepping ahead of him and turning back to face him. “He’s in trouble, that’s all I know.” 

“We’re gonna help him, right,” Jesse said. It wasn’t a question. Kix shrugged, moving to the edge of the street and leaning a hand on the railing, looking down into the depths of the city. 

“I’m not sure how,” he admitted. “I gave Rex the coordinates Fives gave me, I don’t know what else to do.” 

Jesse grabbed Kix’s arm, waiting until Kix turned to face him. 

“You have the coordinates - maybe backup would be useful. I’m not just letting this go - I’ve lost too many  _ vode _ in battle to let Fives go down like this.” 

“You really think he’s in that much danger?” 

“You saw him - you’d know better than me. But from the sounds of it, he’s mixed up in something dangerous. And if it has anything to do with what happened to Tup, I don’t want him to face it alone.” 

Kix nodded, letting out a long breath and stepping away from the railing. 

“You’re right,” he said. “Let’s go help him out.” 

He pulled on his helmet and began walking in the direction of the coordinates Fives had given him, much more purpose in his stride now. Jesse grinned, slipping his helmet on and following his brother. 

-*-

The blaster shot was deafening and the world seemed to slow to a crawl. Rex felt the air escape his lungs and all he could think as he watched Fives collapse was ‘ _ not again _ .’ Not again. Not another comrade. Not another  _ brother _ . 

The shield came down and he rushed to Fives’ side. He was still alive, the wound ragged and painful, his armour useless. 

“Fives! Brother.” He crouched beside his brother, horror filling him.  _ Not again. Not again. Not again _ . The words swarmed through his mind as he tried to make Fives respond, tried to keep him awake. He glanced up only enough to make out Fox’s men, standing in a stunned silence before turning back to Fives. “Call for help! We need a medic!”

“Rex.” Fives’ voice was weak and hearing it almost broke Rex’s heart. 

_ Not again _ . 

“Fives,” he said, forcing himself to stay calm, to be calm for his brother, to let his brother know that he was here, no matter what happened, he would not leave. 

“This - it’s bigger than any of us,” Fives whispered. Rex gripped his hand, letting him speak, the dull, familiar pain of losing a brother slowly taking over the sharp, terrifying pain.

“Move aside!” 

Rex looked up from Fives’ face, at the shout, his heart leaping for a moment as he made out Kix pushing past Fox’s men. They didn’t try to stop him and the medic skidded to his knees beside Fives, tossing his helmet out of the way. “I’ve got him, sir. I’ve got you.” He laid a hand on Fives’ chest, and the wounded soldier’s eyes flickered slightly in recognition. 

Rex stood, half stumbling back a pace to give the medic room. Vaguely he was aware of a hand on his shoulder as he began to make sense of the situation, trusting Kix, because if he couldn’t trust Kix what could he do? 

General Skywalker stood beside him, concern obvious on his face, his hand on Rex’s shoulder. Rex was suddenly glad for the presence of the hand, part of him felt like he would collapse without it. 

Fives was so still, his chest barely rising as Kix crouched over him, his medic bag open beside him. Fives was so still, and Rex couldn’t help but feel like he had let his brother down. Couldn’t help but feel like this was all so pointless, so useless, there was nothing any of them could do but die. 

“ _ It’s what we were born to do, after all, _ ” he thought, tearing his eyes away from the still form of his brother. 

A voice snapped him back to his senses and he looked up to see Jesse, helmet in hand, eyes blazing and blurred as he stood in front of Fox. 

“You  _ shot _ him,” Jesse snarled. “You didn’t even hesitate, how could you  _ do _ that.” 

Fox’s face was pale. He had dropped the gun, his hands shaking, his eyes wide and an expression that Rex instantly recognised covering his face. Rex knew because Rex had felt that same expression on his own face not that long ago. 

“Stand down, Jesse,” Rex said evenly, stepping away from General Skywalker, who was watching the events with concern. Jesse started, turning to look at Rex. 

“I - I - I’m sorry,” Fox said softly. His men had grouped around him, helmets off. “I - it was on stun. I checked. I would never…” He trailed off, taking a deep breath and burying his head in his hand. “It was on stun.” 

“I know,” Rex said quietly. “No clone would ever willingly kill a brother.” He spoke softly, and a flash of guilt crossed Jesse’s face. He hadn’t been there, locked in the brig as he was. Rex would never forget the shock and horror when he had realized he had been shooting at his brothers. And even if Fives survived, Fox would never forget this moment as well. 

“Rex.” General Skywalker stepped forward, his voice surprisingly soft. “We need to talk.” 

Rex hesitated, glancing down at where Kix was still working over Fives. 

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Jesse muttered, and Rex nodded. 

“Nobody leaves here,” he said. With Fox still in shock, the other clones hesitated but nodded, acknowledging Rex’s superiority. 

General Skywalker had stepped a few paces away and Rex moved quickly to join him. The Jedi kept walking until they were out of earshot of the other clones, then stopped, turning to face Rex, his arms folded. 

“You don’t believe what he was saying, do you?” Anakin asked. Rex hesitated, glancing back towards the others, considering the question. General Skywalker noticed the hesitation and kept talking. “I mean, the Chancellor? He can’t be serious.” 

“I’m not sure sir,” Rex said finally. “I believe Fives believed what he was saying. And…” Rex hesitated again, for a long moment. He was aware that what he was about to say was probably treason, suggesting the Chancellor was a liar, but a large part of him didn’t care anymore. “The Chancellor wanted him dead. He may have found out something he wasn’t supposed to.” 

“Because Fives tried to assassinate him!” General Skywalker was getting angry and Rex suddenly realized he was going to have to choose his words carefully. He had seen the general angry and didn’t really want that anger directed at him. 

“Seems convenient, doesn’t it? I mean… you know Fives, sir. He’s served alongside you for years. Do you really think he would try to assassinate the Chancellor?” 

“You saw what happened to Tup,” General Skywalker muttered. Rex nodded slowly, ignoring the stab of pain at the memory of his brother. He was used to it by now. 

“And Tup would never kill a Jedi like that. Sir, something’s wrong and I think Fives found out what it was and the Chancellor wants him dead for that.” Seeing the General wasn’t convinced, Rex pushed on. “Fox would never have gone after one of his brothers without making sure his gun was on stun. There’s no way it was an accident. Believe me, I  _ know _ what it’s like to shoot a brother.” Waxer’s face flashed through his mind, but Rex pushed on, knowing General Skywalker was hesitating. “No clone would willingly kill another. There’s something more to this.” 

The Jedi sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking back at the clones as they gathered around Fives and Kix. 

“I still don’t believe it’s the Chancellor,” he said finally. “But you’re right. Someone wants Fives dead. And we need to get him off-world.” 

“Sir?” Rex asked, surprised as the sudden change of direction the conversation was taking. General Skywalker nodded slowly. 

“I’m giving you permission to go with him if you want.” 

“I - I can’t, sir, I…” He trailed off, unsure how to finish. What he had said before was only toeing the line of treason - what General Skywalker was suggesting was full out treason -  _ desertion _ . 

“You want me to leave?” 

“Not really,” Anakin admitted, flashing a grim smile. “But… well, he’s your brother. If you want to go with him, I’m not going to stop you. In fact, I’ll cover for you.” 

Rex blinked, trying to process the idea. Suddenly, he felt so  _ tired. _ The war had been going on for so long and Rex was tired. Tired of fighting, tired of losing his brothers, tired of fearing and fighting and watching his brothers die for a cause he was beginning to lose sight of. 

Now, the reveal that he and the other clones could be controlled shook him to his core. He needed to know why, to know who was behind it and for what purpose. But to leave, to leave the army, to leave the General - the  _ friend _ \- he had fought alongside for years. That was a different matter altogether. 

General Skywalker was still waiting for his answer and Rex let out a long breath, shaking his head slowly. 

“I need to find answers,” he said finally, surprising himself at how firm his voice was. “And maybe, whatever Fives found out is what we need to end this  _ kriffing  _ war.” 

General Skywalker nodded, and Rex didn’t miss the hint of disappointment in his eyes. For a moment, he felt guilty - the General had only recently lost Commander Tano, if Rex left he would have nothing. 

“ _ General Kenobi will have his back _ ,” Rex told himself. He let out a long breath, turning. 

“This all depends on if Fives even survives,” he said softly, forcing himself not to get his hopes up. He’d lost enough to know that getting his hopes up never ended well.

“With Kix here, he’ll be up and fighting in no time,” General Skywalker said, matching the Captain’s pace as they made their way back to the assembled clones. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all what's up! I've had the idea for this fic floating around for... years now, and I've finally started writing it! We're in for a ride, if I can keep up the motivation for this story! I'm probably going to work on it a lot whilst procrastinating assignments and also being in Complete Denial about what the final two episodes of Clone Wars are gonna bring (Maul vs Ahsoka, am I right guys that was INSANE!!) 
> 
> I'm not 100% happy with how I got to the end of this chapter, Anakin and Rex's conversation seemed a little ooc, but hey, next chapter is where the fun begins, so just bear with me a little longer :) 
> 
> Anyway, I watched Fives' death scene like ten times for this fic so I hope you're happy!


	2. Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He’s stabilized,” Kix said, and as he spoke Rex felt a wave of relief wash through him, so strong he couldn’t breathe for a second. Jesse let out a long breath, and Fox’s men relaxed. “He’ll live, but he needs help, and soon. We have to take him to the hospital.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be working on an assignment but here have this instead.

Kix looked up as the Captain and General returned to the group, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead and letting out a long sigh. 

“He’s stabilized,” the medic said, and as he spoke Rex felt a wave of relief wash through him, so strong he couldn’t breathe for a second. Jesse let out a long breath, and Fox’s men relaxed. “He’ll live, but he needs help, and soon. We have to take him to the hospital.” 

Rex glanced back at General Skywalker, who gestured for him to speak. Taking a long breath, he looked around the assembled clones. 

“That’s not an option, I’m afraid,” he said. Kix opened his mouth to protest, but Rex raised a hand to stop him. “Someone wants him dead, someone powerful. If we take him to a hospital it’s likely that someone will find out and finish the job.” 

“If we  _ don’t _ get him more help, that someone isn’t going to need to do anything,” Kix protested. “Sir, my field skills only go so far. He needs more help than I can give him here.” 

The tight, clenching fear had returned. Kix was right - Fives’ wound was bad enough it needed more attention as soon as possible. But to bring Fives to a hospital or anywhere official would be a death sentence.

“I might have a solution, sir.” One of Fox’s men spoke, stepping forward and joining the conversation. “There’s an old ambulance, Hatchet and I detained it a few days ago. It’s an out of date model and is due for scrapping but should still have a medical droid on board. Plus it has a hyperdrive.” 

Rex hesitated, glancing towards Kix, who considered for a second. Finally, he nodded, laying a gentle hand on Fives’ chest before standing, facing Rex. 

“You say he needs to get off-world?” he asked. Rex nodded. “Then I’m going with him.” Seeing Rex was about to protest, the medic pushed on. “He’s my patient, and more than that - he’s my friend. I’m not leaving him. And from what he told me, he found out something that affects  _ all _ of us.” 

Rex nodded, knowing from long experience of arguing with the medic he wasn’t going to be able to talk him out of it. Besides, the idea of having Kix at his side made him feel that much better about leaving. 

“Permission to come to, sir,” Jesse said suddenly, drawing Rex’s attention to him. “Fives is my friend, I’m not going to let him go without me.” 

Again, Rex hesitated and this time General Skywalker stepped in. 

“Good idea, Jesse,” he said, to Rex’s surprise. “The four of you will have a much better chance of figuring out what is going on together.” 

“The… four of us?” Jesse said slowly. “You’re coming with us, Sir?” He looked at Rex, and the captain nodded slowly. 

“Like Kix said, what Fives found out affects all of us. The knowledge he has may be just what we need to end the war. I need to find out what that is. Besides,” he added. “Fives is my friend as well.” 

Jesse grinned, and Kix gave him a small nod. Rex returned the nod as General Skywalker continued talking. 

“Commander Fox, are there any cameras in this warehouse?” he asked. The commander, having recovered somewhat from his shock, looked up from where he was seated on a nearby box. 

“Uh, no Sir,” he said. “There was a droid - that’s how we knew where Fives was.” 

General Skywalker nodded, pausing for a moment to think, then began to speak again. 

“No one is to know about what happened here. Can you give them the coordinates to the ambulance…” he trailed off, looking at the clone who had spoken before. 

“CT-7728, Ditto, Sir. And I can lead them to it, if you want me to.” 

General Skywalker shook his head. 

“No, you can’t be seen with them. Once we leave this warehouse I’m afraid you’re on your own, Rex.”

Rex nodded - he had expected as much. It wasn’t fair to drag Fox and his men into this any more than they already had been. 

“The ambulance is unguarded, I take it?” General Skywalker continued. Ditto frowned, considering for a moment. 

“Should be sir, it will be kept in a compound, unguarded, but you’ll need a password. I’ll give you mine.” He moved to Rex’s side, passing on the information. 

“Good,” the general said. “Fox, you and your men need to leave - if anyone asks, say it was a false alarm and try to direct the search for Fives away from the compound.” 

“Yes sir,” Fox said, standing. He pulled on his helmet, seeming more in control now. “Good luck.” 

The rest of his men gathered around him, pulling on their helmets and saluting General Skywalker and the 501st troops before making their way to the exit. Fox hesitated a moment, looking back. 

“Captain, when he wakes up… tell him I - tell him I’m sorry.” 

“I will, Commander,” Rex said. Fox nodded, turning and joining his men. A moment later, they had left. 

General Skywalker let out a long breath as they did, turning to Rex, who was picking his helmet up from the ground. 

“You know where you’re going?” 

Rex nodded, helmet under one arm, checking the coordinates again. The compound wasn’t far. 

“Thank you, sir,” he said quietly. “Not many Jedi would put so much on the line for simple clones.” 

“You’re not just clones, Rex,” the general said. He turned to look at where Jesse and Kix, helmets on again, were supporting Fives. For a moment, he hesitated, something dark in his expression. Rex thought he was about to say something, but he stopped himself. “You should get going,” he said finally, clearly more on his mind than what he was saying. 

“Yes sir,” Rex said, pulling his helmet on. “Watch your back.” He turned to leave, but the general’s voice made him pause.

“I always do. And Rex…” He paused a moment. “Be careful. Find out what’s going on and lay low.” 

“I know sir,” Rex said. Once again, the slight guilt of leaving the general alone returned, whispering to him that he was making the wrong choice. With him gone, with Commander Tano go, who was going to watch General Skywalker’s back? 

“I’ll try to get help to you if I can,” the Jedi said. Rex nodded, standing to attention and snapping a salute at his General. Skywalker returned the gesture by touching two fingers to his forehead. Then, before he could change his mind, Rex turned and followed his brothers out of the warehouse. 

Anakin watched them go, arms folded, his expression dark. 

-*-

The compound wasn’t far - it only took them about ten minutes of quick walking through the streets of lower Coruscant to arrive. The clones were given a wide birth, their armour and weapons alone marking them out as people not to be bothered. 

Rex’s mind was running fast as they arrived by the compound, trying to come up with his next plan of action. They needed to hide, lay low for a while until Fives was well enough to tell them exactly what he had learned. They needed to find somewhere no one would ever think to look for them. 

He plugged the password into the compound, waiting a second for it to be accepted. The ambulance was old - Rex gave it a disapproving eye as it came into sight, nestled between two other equally ancient ships. 

“Think that thing can even fly?” Jesse asked. 

“We’d better hope so,” Rex replied, unlocking it with the access code Ditto had given him. 

A moment later, Kix had taken charge, directing Jesse to lay Fives on the medical table in one of the small rooms in the ship. Rex moved to the cockpit, powering the ship up and preparing to fly her out of the city. 

Jesse joined him as they left the atmosphere, breaking out into the vastness of space. For a moment, Rex just soaked it all in, feeling with a strange thrill a sense of freedom. He could go wherever he wanted to, to whichever planet he desired. There was no one to stop him, no orders, no army. 

“Where are we going, sir?” Jesse’s voice broke him out of his thoughts and he glanced back as the other clone took the co-pilot’s seat. The sense of freedom crumbled around him as he considered the question. 

He knew where. He knew where the safest place for them would be. The one place no one would ever come looking for them. The one place no clone in their right mind would return to willingly. 

With a long sigh, he turned his face to the stars glittering in front of him, not wanting to see Jesse’s face. 

“The one place they won’t look for us.” He hesitated, thinking frantically in one last desperate reach to come up with a better option. When nothing came to mind, he let out another long breath, eyes fixed firmly  _ away _ from Jesse. 

“We’re going to Umbara.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kix I love you but HONESTLY stop being LOGICAL. My plan was to just have them yeet off instantly but Kix was like 'hey he needs more help' and I was like 'okay yeah that's a good point but STOP MESSING UP MY PLANS KIX.' But hey, at least I've found his voice XD
> 
> Anyway, I had fun with this chapter. I still feel like I'm not writing this story as well as I want to be, but I'm still easing into the characters and setting, so hopefully, I'll get the hang of it soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No. Absolutely not.” 
> 
> The medic was standing in the door of the room Fives was lying in, arms crossed and eyes hard. Rex sighed, opening his mouth to explain what he had told Jesse but Kix didn’t let him get a word in edgewise. 
> 
> “Do you know what kind of stress that would put on Fives’ mind when he wakes up? On all of our minds? Returning to the place of a traumatic experience is never a good idea, and I for one, would call what happened on Umbara traumatic.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Clone Wars finished, I cried, University got busy, I got caught up in life and I had to rewrite some bits of this that I didn't like. But anyway, here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy, I've been doing some planning over the last few days and I'm very excited about what I have planned.

Jesse was silent for a long moment and Rex continued to refuse to look at him, focusing on plugging the coordinates into the hyperspace. 

“You can’t be serious,” he said finally, his voice rising slightly. “Umbara? Sir, all due respect - but… well, there’s a reason they won’t look for us there.” 

Rex sighed, looking up and watching the stars for a moment longer. 

“I know,” he said finally. “But we need to go somewhere no one will think to look. I don’t like it any better than you, but I don’t have any other ideas. If you have another suggestion, I’m open to it.” 

“Surely anywhere else! Somewhere on the Outer Rim, we can lay low there. Umbara is Republic occupied; if we want to avoid capture we should go to somewhere far outside of the Republic’s reach.” 

Rex nodded, considering for a moment. The thought had already crossed his mind, but he was willing to entertain it again. Umbara was the last place he wanted to go, but an alternative was a long time in coming. 

“The Republic will expect us to head straight to the Outer Rim,” he said finally. “We can buy ourselves a little time by hiding under their nose, and even more if we hide out on a planet they wouldn’t even consider us returning to.” 

“I suppose. But  _ Umbara _ ?” 

“Trust me, Jesse. I have no desire to go back.” Rex sighed, turning to look at his younger brother. “But it’s the best place I can think to go. Only for a little while, until Fives is back on his feet and we can come up with more of a plan.” 

“Alright,” Jesse said finally. He wasn’t meeting Rex’s eyes, staring out at the blackness of space before them. “But I’m not going to be the one to tell Kix.” 

Rex grimaced, finishing plotting the course.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that,” he muttered, punching the ship into hyperspace. 

Kix was occupied for a long time after they entered hyperspace. Part of Rex was glad for that - he knew exactly what the medic’s response would be to their destination. The larger part of him was worried about Fives. 

But, finally, Fives had stabilized and Kix was confident he would survive. The relief Rex felt swamping him was slightly dampened by Kix asking where they were going. His response was exactly as Rex had expected. 

“No. Absolutely not.” 

The medic was standing in the door of the room Fives was lying in, arms crossed and eyes hard. Rex sighed, opening his mouth to explain what he had told Jesse but Kix didn’t let him get a word in edgewise. 

“Do you know what kind of stress that would put on Fives’ mind when he wakes up? On  _ all _ of our minds? Returning to the place of a traumatic experience is never a good idea, and I for one, would call what happened on Umbara traumatic.” 

“Kix, we don’t have any other option,” Rex tried. Kix narrowed his eyes. 

“There’s thousands of other worlds we could lay low on,” he said sharply. 

“We’ll have half the bounty hunters in the galaxy after us - it’ll be safer to hide on a Republic occupied world, and Umbara is one that the Republic won’t look for us on.” 

“Yeah, because it’s a bad idea. Fives will need rest when he wakes up - the  _ last _ thing he needs is to wake up on  _ Umbara _ . And besides, you saw that place - what are we going to eat? We only have enough rations on this hunk of junk to last us maybe a week. Umbaran flora and fauna isn’t exactly clone friendly. Not to mention the locals.”

“If you have a better idea, I will pull us out of hyperspace and go there,” Rex said. 

“Hutt space. The Outer Rim. Kriff, even Wild Space is a better idea.” 

“If you were looking for us, would you think to look on Umbara?” Rex asked quietly. Kix was silent for a long moment, looking back at Fives so Rex couldn’t see his face. The shadows of Umbara were cast long over him, and the idea of returning to the place so many of his brothers died made him feel sick to the stomach. 

“Surely there’s somewhere. We can lay low for a few hours and figure out an actual sane plan,” Kix said. His jaw was set in a stubborn expression that Rex knew all too well. The chances of him convincing Kix this was a good idea were low. “Saleucami. Tatooine. Thousands of worlds that are a better idea.” 

“Kix -” Rex said, but he was beginning to agree with the medic. He hadn’t had much time to actually think out where they were going, had just grasped onto the first idea he had in an effort to put some distance between them and Coruscant. 

Kix was just opening his mouth to speak when the whole ship shuddered, a painful, screeching sound filling the air. Rex stumbled, taken by surprise, catching himself on the wall. Kix glanced quickly back at Fives, making sure he was alright. 

“What was that?” he asked. The ship groaned again and Rex glanced up worriedly. 

“I’m not sure,” he muttered. 

“Captain!” Jesse’s voice came from the cockpit, frantic and worried. Rex and Kix exchanged a glance and hurried towards the front of the ship. 

They were still in hyperspace, the stars rushing past them in a blur. Jesse was gripping the controls, cursing as the ship shuddered again, dipping out of hyperspace for less than a second before shooting away again. 

“What’s happening?” Rex demanded. 

“I - I’m not sure. I think there’s a reason it was detain - _ kriff _ .” Again, the ship shuddered, dropping out of hyperspace. For a moment, Rex thought they had stopped, then, with a jolt that was far too violent, they were off again, speeding through the stars. 

“Disengage hyperspace,” he ordered, slipping into the co-pilot seat. Jesse nodded, leaning over the controls, muttering to himself and cursing. 

“I - I don’t know if I can,” he said unsteadily. 

With a sudden, violent jerk, the ship burst out of hyperspace again, spinning wildly. This time, it didn’t return, drifting slowly towards the looming planet ahead of them. 

“I think we’re too late,” Kix muttered, staring at the planet. The clones looked up, slow dread curling in their chests as they took in Umbara. 

Clones feared Umabra. Jesse had heard other battalions talk, he had seen the way they looked at him when they realised he was 501st - when they realised he had  _ been there _ . Umbara was a legend in the GAR, the horror stories whispered late at night around campfires, even - as he had heard from a shiny - used to keep troublesome cadets in line. 

Umbara was the stuff of clone nightmares, and Jesse had  _ lived it _ . Just the slight of the planet was enough to send a cold chill down his spine, to freeze him in place. 

“What’s the state of the ship,” Rex asked, his voice stiff. Pulled back into reality, Jesse blinked, glancing down at the blinking controls and warnings. 

“Not great,” he muttered. “Right engine is all but out - we lost shields completely as well. And a stabilizer. And - oh  _ sithspit _ \- we’re drifting towards the planet - any closer and we’re going to be pulled in by its gravity.”

Rex cursed, his hands tight around the controls. It took him a second to compose himself, and he let out a long breath, taking in the situation. 

“Kix, make sure Fives is alright,” he ordered sharply. Kix nodded, knowing that now wasn’t a time to argue. “Jesse, see if you can get us out of here. If not, we might have a rough landing.” 

“Just another day in the 501st then,” Jesse said, attempting a grin. Silence met his comment and he decided now wasn’t the best time to crack jokes. 

He turned his attention to the controls, trying to wrestle with the ship. It felt like a slap of metal, hanging in space and it took effort just to make it stop spinning. 

“I think we’re going down, sir,” he reported stiffly. Rex nodded, gripping the co-pilot’s controls. 

The ship slowly began to build up speed, drifting closer and closer to the planet. Jesse let out a long breath, closing his eyes for a moment and focusing. His piloting skills were lacking, but he knew out of the three currently conscious crew members, he was likely the best. 

Hopefully, what little skill he had would be enough to get them out alive. 

The ship began moving even faster, breaking the atmosphere with a shuddering jerk that made Jesse swear. He was sure they had lost parts of the ship, but there was enough that he could bring whatever he had left to ground safely. 

The ship groaned under him and Jesse bared his teeth, wrestling control, pulling up, trying to slow their screeching decent. Trees began to come into view and he twisted the controls, hauling up enough to avoid the larger ones, slowing their progress fractionally. 

With a shuddering, ear-splitting explosion of noise and violence, they smashed into the ground. Jesse’s head was thrown forward, slamming into the controls and sending a bursting pain throughout his whole body. The ship was shuddering, groaning, slowly settling. 

For a long moment, Jesse couldn’t focus on anything but the piercing pain in his head and the ringing in his ears. Slowly, he raised his head, hissing in pain as he took in their situation. 

Lights were flashing throughout the cabin, a low, blaring note explaining that the ship wasn’t in good shape. The windscreen was a spiderweb of cracks and behind it…

Behind it was Umbara. 

Jesse sucked in a breath, low panic bubbling in his chest as he stared out at the trees, the shadows twisting between them, the darkness intense and endless. For a moment, he could do nothing but stare, nothing but take in the view in front of him. 

“Ugh,” Rex muttered beside him, snapping Jesse out of his growing panic. He blinked, winched again and turned to make sure Rex was alright. The captain seemed alright, pushing himself up from the controls and taking in the situation. 

“That was a Skywalker worthy crash,” he muttered, and Jesse let out a small, unintentional noise of amusement. “You alright?” Rex continued, taking in the blood running down Jesse’s face. 

“I’ll live,” Jesse said. Rex nodded, clearly unconvinced, and reached forward to flick on the ships' communications. 

"What's your status, Kix?"

A long moment of static answered and Jesse felt a stab of panic for his brother. Had he messed up the landing? But with a low crackle, Kix's voice came through a moment later.   


"We're alright back here, Captain. Thrown around a bit, but we'll live." 

Rex let out a long breath of relief, echoed by Jesse. 

"Well," Rex said slowly,  turning back to the curling shadows of the world outside. "Welcome back to Umbara, boys." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> misuse of hyperspace I know but hey, at least it's not Rise of Skywalker level of hyperspace misuse!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What up guys, new chapter! This one took a while cos there was a whole scene I wanted at the start but just wouldn't work with me. I might at some point make a work of deleted scenes for the story, depending on how many I get! Anyway, enjoy. 
> 
> Also, the Tumblr for this changed, it's now @words-with-wren, I've got a whole lot of stories over there that aren't just star wars!

The ship was in bad shape. Even an unskilled eye could tell it wasn’t going to fly for a long time, if ever again. 

“I’m going to have to go out there,” Rex said. He was standing in the door of the med-bay as Kix looked Jesse over to make sure his injury wasn’t serious. Fives was still dead to the world but his chest was rising and falling evenly. “We need to scout the area, see if there’s anything we can salvage nearby to get us off this planet.” 

“I’ll come with you,” Jesse said, pushing Kix’s hand away. 

“Jesse, you have a concussion - there’s no way you’re going out there,” Kix responded, reaching up to finish bandaging his head. 

“I’m fine,” Jesse said. He pushed Kix away again and went to stand from the empty bed he was sitting on, but swayed slightly and sat back down heavily. “I _will_ be fine,” he amended. “Besides, Rex can’t go out on his own, and someone needs to stay here with Fives.” 

Kix hesitated, glancing back at Fives, then at Rex. He muttered a curse under his breath and set the bandages he was holding down beside Jesse. 

“This is why I didn’t want to come here,” he muttered. Then, in a louder voice, “I’ll come with you, sir.”

Rex looked up in surprise, glancing between Fives and Jesse. 

“Are they going to be alright?” he asked. 

“I’ll watch him, sir, don’t worry,” Jesse said. “If you’ll give me instructions, Kix,” he added. 

“I think he’s going to be sleeping for a long time,” Kix admitted. He stared at Fives, the familiar guilt he always felt whenever one of his brothers were hurt arising again. Sometimes it felt like he was helpless to do anything but help his brothers die comfortably. 

The last thing he wanted to do was leave Fives and he was hesitant to leave Jesse alone with him. But they had no other option - Jesse was right, Rex would need backup. 

“Alright,” Rex said. He paused, looking between them again, then nodded once. “I’ll meet you in the hanger in ten.” Kix acknowledged him with a grunt, not in the mood to engage in any further conversation with him. 

As Rex left, Kix turned back to Jesse, finishing bandaging his head. He was doing a quick survey of their medical supplies when Jesse spoke. 

“Are you alright?” 

He paused, glancing back at his brother. He wasn’t really - what little he had heard about what Fives had been saying had shaken him, and being back on Umbara wasn’t helping matters much. But he didn’t have time to talk that out, so he just shrugged. 

“I’ll live,” he said. Jesse shot him a lopsided grin. 

“We always do,” he said. He said the words cheerfully enough, but Kix had known him for long enough to sense the underlying message - the message that Umbara reminded him of powerfully. 

“Be careful while we’re gone,” Kix said after a moment’s silence. Jesse blinked, looking up at him and nodded. “Rest, but keep in contact - let me know if you start feeling worse.” He paused, making sure Jesse was focused on him. “I mean it, don’t try to just push through - head injuries are serious.” 

“I’ll be fine, Kix,” Jesse said. “Go. And don’t be too hard on the Captain, he’s doing his best.” 

Kix snorted, snatching up his blaster from beside the door. 

“Look after yourself, and keep an eye on Fives,” he called over his shoulder as he slid his helmet on. Jesse acknowledged him with a grunt and Kix made his way to the ship’s entrance. 

Rex was waiting for him, a pistol in his hand, his helmet on. Kix greeted him with a nod, barely giving him a glance. 

“Ready?” Rex asked. 

“Not for this,” Kix muttered. “Open the door.” 

The ramp of the ship lowered, revealing the forest around them. For a moment, Kix felt as though the shadows were filling the ship, entering every corner and suffocating everything. Then Rex began moving and Kix had no choice but to follow him outside. 

The ground crunched slightly under their feet, the eerie red lights in the trees casting strange shadows, shadows that seemed to move on their own, swirling around the clones. Kix let out a long breath, gripping his blaster tightly. 

They moved slowly, beginning to create a perimeter around the grounded ship. Kix kept his eyes half on the ground, half on the sky, instinctively slipping back into the constantly on guard state of being in the field. The one good thing about Umbara was they knew what to look out for. 

Somehow that made it worse. It was eerily quiet, and Kix kept glancing to the sky for fear the flying monsters would attack them. He had to move his feet carefully, watching that he wasn’t going to step on a vine that would come to life. 

On top of all that was the underlying terror, the sense that an attack would come from nowhere, that the Umbaran warriors would appear from the shadows to kill them, that a lightsaber would light in the dark. 

“ _Kriff_ ,” Rex muttered, breaking the silence that had reigned for the past few minutes as they walked. Kix couldn’t help but jump slightly at the noise - he was on edge, bad memories coming back in full force. 

“You can say that again,” he muttered in response. “I said we shouldn’t have come here.” 

Rex was silent for so long Kix thought he wasn’t going to answer. They continued walking, the silence and memories slowly eating away at Kix’s sanity, his every nerve strained and tense. 

“You’re right,” Rex said finally. He paused, glancing back at Kix. The medic stopped as well, narrowing his eyes at his captain. “We shouldn’t have come. I just…” He sighed, turning his head to look into the shadows and trees. “I didn’t know what else to do.” 

“Maybe you should have thought about that before stranding us here,” Kix muttered darkly. He had spoken without thinking and surprised even himself at the anger in his voice. Rex didn’t reply, simply sighing deeply and beginning to walk again. 

They were beginning to circle back towards the ship when Kix began noticing something - a flicker of movement in the unnaturally quiet forest. 

“Sir,” he began quietly. 

“I saw it,” Rex responded. 

Kix’s heart was beating quickly as he forced himself to keep moving, his chest tight. Something was stalking them, something was following them. His skin was crawling, expecting at any moment to feel a blaster bolt in his back. 

Again, he caught the flicker of movement in the shadows and on instinct he shifted, raising his weapon in a swift movement. But there was nothing to shoot, and for a moment he wondered if he was imagining things. 

“Take it easy,” Rex said quietly. “We don’t know how many there are - or what they are.” 

“Umbarans,” Kix muttered. He forced a breath into his lungs, moving forward slowly. “ _Kriff_ , I hate this.” 

“If we can get back to the ship without being attacked we’ll be in a much better position for a fight, we’re far too exposed out here,” Rex said. He was moving, stepping carefully between the roots of the trees, his head constantly moving. 

“That’s what I’m worried about, if they want to -” 

He acted on instinct, whipping his blaster up and firing, almost without aiming. A screech came from the direction he had fired, and Rex instinctively dropped for cover. Kix ducked behind a tree as soon as he fired. 

His heart was hammering in his chest as he adjusted his grip on the weapon. Every sense in his body was screaming to hide, to run, or to stand a fight. Every part of him was expecting the return fire, an ambush from behind, something deadly to emerge from the darkness of Umbara. 

But silence greeted his shot. 

He glanced at Rex from between the trees, tilting his head on one side. Rex shrugged, slowly glancing around cover. Holding his breath, Kix waited for the return fire, but nothing came. 

With two fingers, Rex directed Kix to slowly move around as he began to dart between trees. Kix began to move through the shadows, making his way towards where he had seen the figure.

As he made his way closer, he began to make out a low sound - a soft whimpering that filled the eerie silence and put Kix even more on edge. 

A darker shadow came into view as Kix moved closer. He glanced to one side, making out the comforting white and blue of Rex’s armour moving through the shadows. With a long breath, he stepped around the tree, blaster at the ready. 

It was the huddled figure of an Umbaran, curled in a small ball, whimpering softly. Instinctively, Kix slipped his finger onto the trigger, the only thing stopping him from firing the universal sounds of pain and fear coming from the being. 

“It’s a native, sir,” Kix said, glancing up as Rex joined him, both pistols drawn. The Umbaran looked up, eyes wide, and scrambled back. Kix couldn’t help but notice it wasn’t wearing a helmet, the strange green gas they had seen in their opponents in their previous stint here absent. Its dress was also much simpler, if Kix hadn't known better he would assume it was a simple commoner's outfit, quite unlike the armour and uniform of the other Umbarans he had encountered. 

“It seems scared,” Rex muttered. 

“I think I hit it,” Kix admitted. 

It was looking between them, the panic in its eyes slowly fading. It was holding its arm with one hand, wary, but the fear seemed to be fading. 

To Kix’s surprise, Rex slipped his pistols back into their holsters and pulled off his helmet. 

“Sir…” he began hesitantly. Rex waved a dismissive hand in his direction, stepping towards the Umbaran. 

“She’s not a fighter,” he said, not taking his eyes off the Umbaran. 

“She?” Kix asked. He didn’t loosen his grip on the blaster. Rex nodded, crouching in front of the other being. 

She narrowed her eyes, speaking in a language neither of them understood. Her words were slow, careful, as though she knew they didn’t share a language, and Kix made out a few words in Basic - ‘friend,’ crash’ and ‘help.’ 

“I don’t think she wants to hurt us,” Rex said. 

“Well, her people killed  _ hundreds _ of our brothers,” Kix growled. Memories came rushing back, memories of hauling the wounded, of bowed heads and barely contained tears, of gruesome wounds and panicked breathing. Of shinies with tears in their eyes as they begged to live longer and veterans who met their end with peace. Kix hadn’t been able to help them, Kix had watched so many of his brothers die at the hands and weapons of the Umbarans. 

“I know,” Rex said, and there was a deep anger in his voice. He still didn’t look away from the Umbaran, but she flinched slightly at his voice. “But we killed many of her people.” Now he looked away, and Kix flinched, raising his weapon in case she tried to attack him while he was distracted. “And we were the invaders.” 

For a moment, Kix wanted to admit he had a point. Then he remembered blood and fire, the bodies of his brothers piling up, having to leave the wounded to  _ die _ on the battlefield because he had to survive himself. 

“You cannot be serious,” Kix growled. “I watched so many of my  _ vode _ die at the hands of her people!” He gestured at the Umbaran, eyes blazing under his helmet. “I’ll be damned if I give them a chance to kill more.” 

His words caused her to perk up, eyes light. 

“Yes,” she said. “Yes,  _ elek _ .  _ Vode _ .” 

Kix’s anger faded slightly at the words, and he glanced to Rex who had a strange expression on his face. The Captain turned back to the Umbara, eyes narrowed slightly. 

“Yes what?” he asked. 

“ _ Vode _ .” She frowned, appearing to be trying to find the words. “I know…  _ vod _ ?  _ ‘Lek? _ Come.  _ Gar _ see.” She pushed herself up, still holding her wounded arm, but standing. 

“She knows Mando’a,” Kix muttered. Rex nodded slowly, a frown covering his face as he stood. 

“We should follow her,” he said quietly. 

“Oh no, no way,” Kix said. The Umbaran was gesturing, pointing into the shadows of the forest. “There’s no way I’m going anywhere with an Umbaran.” 

“Kix, she knows Mando’a - for that matter, she knows Basic. Where do you think she learned it?” 

“I don’t know, they probably have some kind of schools here.” But Kix knew that Rex was right - barely anyone spoke Mando’a. 

“Won’t hurt to see,” Rex said quietly. 

“Follow,” the Umbaran said. “Follow!” 

“Alright,” Rex said, turning to her. “We’ll follow. My name is Rex, this is Kix.” He gestured to Kix, who didn’t move. 

She waved a hand in greeting, smiling slightly. 

“Lou,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest. “Rex,” and she pointed at Rex. “Kix.” A finger in Kix’s direction. “Lou.” And she laid her hand on her chest again. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lou. I think,” Rex said. “Kix, you’d better com Jesse and let him know what’s happening.” 

“So if we get killed he can avenge us,” Kix muttered. While Rex turned back to his new 'friend', Kix stepped away, one hand still firmly on his blaster as he contacted the ship. 

“Everything alright?” Jesse’s voice came through his helmet speaker, sounding a little worried. 

“No one’s dead yet, but _kriff_ this place brings back bad memories,” Kix responded. A snort from Jesse was the only reply. “Rex found a native,” Kix said quietly. “She knows our language, so he seems to think it’s a good idea to follow her.” 

“That sounds like a bad idea,” Jesse said. 

“That’s what I said.” 

“You’re going with her because she knows Basic? Half the galaxy knows Basic.” 

“Not Basic,” Kix said with a long sigh. “Mando’a.” 

“Oh.” 

And that was the problem, that was what had Kix curious despite himself. Barely anyone in the galaxy spoke Mando’a now - a forgotten language from a fading time. The clones had picked up on it from their trainers on Kamino, the last remnants of the Mandalorians who had once been spread across the galaxy. Now all but dead, the clones were the last who spoke the language, weaving it in between Basic, Kaminoan and whatever languages their Jedi spoke. For an Umbaran to recognise Mando’a words - to  _ know _ Mando’a words - well, Kix was more curious than he wanted to admit. 

“I’ll stay in touch,” Kix said. 

“Be careful,” Jesse said quietly. 

“How’s Fives?” 

“He’s still out to the world. But he’s alive.” 

Kix let out a long sigh, looking to where Rex was waiting for him. 

“He’ll be fine,” he said softly. “Contact me -” 

“If there are any problems, I know. Watch out for the captain.” 

“I always do.” 

“Let’s go, Kix,” Rex said. The Umbaran seemed eager to move, gesturing for them to follow and beginning to move into the shadows. 

“Yes sir,” Kix muttered, adjusting his blaster and following her into the shadows. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a: 
> 
> Vod/vode: brother/brothers  
> Elek/'lek: Yes/yeah  
> Gar: You


End file.
